The sun was just starting to rise over Ahwatukee, casting that perfect golden glow across the desert. It was early June, one of those rare mornings in Phoenix when you could actually enjoy being outside without feeling like you’d stepped into an oven set to broil. My twin Havanese dogs, Barry and Jasper, were already … Read more
The Sedona Room is my writing oasis. An artist hand painted a sunrise over Cathedral Rock across the walls and ceiling, wrapping the room in warm desert hues, reds and oranges and blues stretching overhead while I sit with my feet kicked up on the couch, air conditioning humming, trying to make sense of fifteen … Read more
The photo is Anthony and I aboard the USS Cole circa 1996. The USS Cole cut through the churning Atlantic, slicing past the Frying Pan Shoals buoy near Cape Fear, North Carolina. The mission was clear but shrouded in uncertainty, missing weekend boaters, lost somewhere in the chaos of Hurricane Bertha. The crew didn’t know … Read more
There’s a moment from the Peanuts comic strip that I’ve always related to: Charlie Brown gearing up to kick the football. Every time, he gives it his all, determined to finally succeed. And every time, Lucy pulls the ball away, leaving him flat on his back, staring at the sky, wondering what just happened. That’s … Read more
Many of you have read my previous article about how a denied insurance authorization led me to an MS relapse, rendering me nonfunctional on my right side. As it turned out, MRI studies revealed that I had two new active lesions on my brain and one on the right side of my cervical spine that … Read more
**Originally posted by Matt Cavallo on Mango Health at http://blog.mangohealth.com/post/143011766224/the-healing-power-of-pets** I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the spring of 2005, and I was laying in my hospital bed wondering if I was ever going to walk again. A month after my hospital discharge, I was devastated to find out at the follow-up appointment … Read more
Many of you have followed my chronicles with MS for years. In honor of MS Education and Awareness Month, I wanted to share a personal story of what it is like to go through a bout of optic neuritis. This is the true story of what happened to me in February 2006. I first posted … Read more
Last year at this time I wrote about how small changes can make a big difference in the New Year. Some of the advice from that post included: developing a financial plan, changing eating habits, exercising, getting back on your schedule and setting attainable goals. I used this advice to make major changes in my … Read more
In September of 2010, I was faced with a devastating decision. I was experiencing severe spinal stenosis and a fractured C6 vertebra, which my doctors believed was a result of complications due to my initial onset of transverse myelitis five years earlier. My decision was to have an emergency cervical fusion to address the problem … Read more
Some of us are born to do certain things in life. James Frederic “Jimmie” Heuga was born to ski. Jimmie began competitive skiing at age five and appeared in a Warren Miller film at age nine. In 1958, Jimmie became the youngest man ever to make the US Ski Team. In 1963, he won the … Read more